College student accused of killing mom in argument over grades

Tyler Blansit faces murder rap in beating death of mom during confrontation over bad grades. (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.)

Alabama authorities said Saturday a 22-year-old man home from college beat his mother to death with a baseball bat during a confrontation over bad grades.

MyFoxAl said Tyler Blansit confessed to the crime, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris, who said the crime scene was “brutal.” Deputies found 45-year-old Sherry Ann Blansit dead in the backyard.

"Usually we'll have calls where a parent has whipped a child because of grades, a child has run away because of bad grades, but we've never had anything like this happen," Harris told the station.

Harris said it appears the mother’s death was the result of blunt force trauma to the head. He said Tyler was the person who called 911 on Friday to report he found his mother dead.

The young man had scratches on his body and sported a knot on his head when investigators arrived at the scene.

Officials said Tyler attends the University of Alabama-Birmingham and is majoring in biology.

Al.com said investigators recovered a baseball bat that was believed to be the murder weapon.

Blansit came home when the spring semester ended.

His father was at work when the murder occurred, Mentone Police Chief Brad Gregg told the website.

Blansit is behind bars in the DeKalb County Jail.

"It's just one of those things you can't explain; we'll never be able to explain what went through his mind, why he snapped and did this," Harris told MyFoxAl.